Teens Pack 21,000 Meals to Fight Worldwide Hunger

Prosper, Texas — In honor of the annual Global Youth Service Day, a church youth group of 40 teens from Prosper recently spent an evening packing 100 boxes of food to include over 21,000 meals, the equivalent of feeding 59 children for a whole year. The event was sponsored by the nonprofit Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) in Richardson.

“Hunger is still causing nearly half of deaths in children under 5 years old,” says the FMSC website. “From this data, we estimate at least 6,200 children die each day from causes related to undernutrition.” 

FMSC works to change that by organizing monetary donations for meal ingredients, welcoming volunteers to pack the meals regularly, and distributing the boxes of food with the help of their partners throughout the world.

Brittanie Hancock, one of six leaders and organizers of the teens’ activity, said, “It was such a great experience for these kids to bond while working to help others.” Their group aims to serve others regularly in various ways in their community.

Cierra Demaris, a high school freshman who participated in the food pack activity, said, “I love serving people because I love the way it impacts them. I love how you can help fulfill their needs and show how you care.” She loved the happy, friendly, and busy atmosphere created by FMSC, where each participant is given a job to do, upbeat music is played, and the work gets done quickly.

She added, “Another one of my favorite parts was the prayer. I loved how we were able to all bless the food and bring it all back to God.”

Demaris knows that young people like her can make a difference. “Anyone can, as long as they are trying and striving to be the best person and example they can be,” she declared. “The way you serve and treat others can impact everything. I think that makes it so important for young people to be a light for others.”

Ongoing needs for FMSC can be found on their website. Find more ways to serve at JustServe.org.